Moved from the Blue 22 Poll - there was some discussion in that thread that overlaps discussion in Transportation Issues

There were a lot of interesting ideas in a recent thread about potential rail links to the airport. I am wondering how many people would support this particular proposal (details taken from article "Peel skeptical of airport rail link to Toronto"):

ROUTE: the link would begin at Union Station and follow the existing Georgetown GO line to a new station near Woodbine Racetrack in Etobicoke. From there, the service would follow a yet-to-be-built connecting line.

RFT!
Go train to the Pearson cable car thingy.
Done.
OK- so you have a train do the exact same thing from Perason, on a spur line- again, where's the problem?
Anything is better!
We need a real deal rail link to the airport and a real deal airport (now under construction)

I would rather take the subway and the 192 rocket than pay $20 for that. At least supporting the 192 rocket could lead to better service frequencies. For $20 I would rather take the taxi from Yorkdale station.

Exactly...you think business travellers (and not just them...any travel-weary person getting off a plane after a long flight) want to figure out which bus to take, lug their bags on a bus not really designed for the airport crowd, transfer to a subway, then maybe take another bus to get to their eventual destination? I don't think so. A well-signed and conveniently-located $20 train trip downtown, they maybe a subway trip or a $5 cab ride to their hotel, sounds good to me.

I go to the airport so infrequently, but one of the downsides is how long it takes. Fight traffic to get there, go through security, board the plane - it's just not worth it if you are going somewhere like Ottawa or Montreal. The train is much better.

However, if I was travelling more often, I would definitely want to see the rail link. It would take me 1.5hrs to get to my condo downtown from the airport on TTC and, quite frankly, I'd rather spend an extra $17.75, and save the 1.17hrs. Taking the car would be slower and almost expensive. Perhaps the people who should be most opposed to the rail link is the cabbies.

I take the TTC from downtown to the airport all the time. If they built it then if I was travelling alone then I might take it for $20... if I was travelling with someone else I would take the airport limo like I do now when I am travelling with someone or I am too tired for the TTC. That said, just because I would likely ride it doesn't mean it is the right project to be building. I would also ride a GO train to to the airport and would be happier doing it.

I think it is embarrassing that Toronto has no simple route to downtown. Most every city I have ever flown into has a rail line downtown. I always feel badly for tourists landing in Toronto having to figure out the less than stellar means to get to the city after a long flight.

I am going to Bangkok on Monday, and even for a country where the average income is $1200 a year, they manage to have a rail line straight downtown! Trust me, after a long flight, landing in a city where you might not speak the language, loaded with baggage, there is nothing better than a simple train ride into the city.

Why is this rail link taking so long? Sometimes I think that while Toronto endlessly debates infrastructure improvements, every other city just gets on with it...:brickwall

The worst thing about this project is that it is a poor use of valuable space which could be used for transit, instead of an expensive trip for business men. It is Toronto neighbourhoods which are divided and suffer being located next to the rails. Toronto also suffers from traffic gridlock and lack of higher order transit, yet residents have no say in the matter.

It would be nice if the corridor could be used for an lrt or even a busway which would serve north west communities at prices that the public can afford (TTC fares). The city of Toronto has been building high density residential on the old industrial lands next to the tracks. The transit could carry a lot more people and be a source of pedestrians and stores at its frequent stations instead of having express trains travel non-stop across the city. Unfortuately the government would rather give the right of way to a private company to serve people like themselves.

I think it is embarrassing that Toronto has no simple route to downtown. Most every city I have ever flown into has a rail line downtown. I always feel badly for tourists landing in Toronto having to figure out the less than stellar means to get to the city after a long flight.

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This sums it all up for me. It really is unbelieveable that we have gone so long without a direct rail link.

I've flown into Tokyo Narita, and as a tourist (not a business traveller), the first thing you want is the direct route to downtown, and cost is not an object. You see not a single person balking at the cost and trying to find a public transit alternative, and that includes people fluent in the language.

I'll bet the Narita Express was expensive (almost everything is in Tokyo). But I think it's more telling that I did the trip twice and cannot remember the price.

I can't believe this is even subject to debate. Relying solely on buses and taxis is already unreliable- I can't imagine how bad its going to be 10-20 yeas down the pipe. Toronto is behind folks..WAY behind!

It would be nice if the corridor could be used for an lrt or even a busway which would serve north west communities at prices that the public can afford (TTC fares). The city of Toronto has been building high density residential on the old industrial lands next to the tracks. The transit could carry a lot more people and be a source of pedestrians and stores at its frequent stations instead of having express trains travel non-stop across the city

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TTC LRT ON THE RFT GO RIGHT OF WAY!!!
Just like those screwball Europeans would do!

Another idiotic thing those wacky Europeans do -- as I have suggested we do here (and have been thoroughly criticized for it) - is accepting that already paid for rights of way can be used for MANY purposes. The creation of rights of way -- especially in an urban environment - is what makes such infrastructure projects financial (due to jaw dropping expense) and political (due to the realities of electoral politics and the critical importance of the 'on time, on budget' speech) non-starters.

The very same right- of -way can be used for an above ground 'subway', an airport express, GO trains, VIA rail, electrical and telecommunications wires. Imagine that? That's European! That's' screwball!
We can have both! An Airport Express and local transit to the airport in a real - deal, rail based way!